Yu-er earned her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Fudan University in 2018. During her doctoral studies, she also participated in an exchange program at Hokkaido University to delve into the study of biological rhythms. Her doctoral thesis focused on exploring ultradian calcium rhythms in the paraventricular nucleus and supraventricular zone in the hypothalamus.

Following her graduation, she relocated to Boston for a postdoctoral position in the Fuller Lab, where she had the opportunity to continue her research on sleep-wake circuitry and the cellular basis of circadian rhythmicity. Her research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including sleep, anesthetics, chronobiology, neuropharmacology, and pain.  She also employs a wide range of cutting-edge, genetically driven techniques in her experimental work.